Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers said the feature-packed turbo-diesel version would go on sale on 1st February.

“Customers have been telling us for some time they would welcome the option of a turbo-diesel engine and, once again, Suzuki Australia has listened to its customers and responded,” said Devers.

“We’ve also maintained Suzuki’s reputation for offering outstanding value for money, with the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel going on sale with a recommended retail price of just $34,990.”

Devers said the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel would boast a full array of creature comforts and safety equipment. “The Grand Vitara turbo-diesel will pack a full complement of safety equipment, including ESP with traction control, six airbags and ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist."

“Inside, customers will be cosseted in a comfortable environment complete with cruise control, MP3 compatible CD player, climate control air-conditioning and power windows and mirrors.”

The newest addition to the Grand Vitara line-up will boast a 1.9-litre Direct Diesel injection System (DDiS) intercooled and turbocharged engine producing 95 kW of power at 3,750 rpm and a hefty 300 Nm of torque at just 2,000 rpm.

“That makes the new turbo-diesel version not only the most powerful in the Grand Vitara line-up but also the most economical, sipping just 7.6 litres of diesel to cover 100 kilometres." * (see correction below)

“That means the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel will be able to cover a journey from Sydney to Melbourne on a single tank of fuel, representing outstanding value for our customers.”

Devers explained that turbo-diesel enthusiasts would appreciate the economy and strong torque characteristics of the 1.9-litre diesel engine which incorporates common rail technology.

The 1,870 cc single overhead cam engine has two valves per cylinder, bore and stroke of 80 mm and 90 mm respectively and a 17:1 compression ratio.

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve on the turbo-diesel Grand Vitara is a throttle body type, with the passage between exhaust and intake manifolds opened via a throttle.

The rotating force on the throttle axis is provided by an electric motor, while feedback to the Electronic Control Module is provided by a position sensor.

The EGR valve is the main emissions control component in the exhaust gas recirculation system. The valve is located on the intake manifold and opens a small passageway between the exhaust and intake manifold to allow a metered amount of exhaust to flow back into the engine.

This reduces combustion temperatures and helps control the formation of oxides of nitrogen.

The turbocharger is a Garret, water-cooled version, with boost pressure regulated by variable fins in the turbo, which are actuated by the ECM via a solenoid valve.

At low rpm, the fins are in a flat angle so the turbine speed is high although the exhaust gas speed is slow. At high rpm the fins are in a steep angle, so the turbine speed is lower although the exhaust gas speed is high.

Turbo cooling is provided by an electrical turbo cooling pump, which ensures circulation of engine coolant even after the engine has stopped.

The engine is equipped with a Bosch CP3 common rail fuel delivery system with magnetic coil injectors. Rail pressure can reach up to 1,600 bar.

The common rail system employed in the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel engine ensured engineers had the freedom to ensure maximum power delivery while dramatically reducing exhaust emissions.

Common rail, with its flexible division of injection into several pre-, main and post-injections, allows the engine and the injection system to be matched to each other for optimum fuel delivery.

In the common rail accumulator injection system, the generation of the injection pressure is separate from the injection itself. A high-pressure pump generates in an accumulator – the rail – a pressure of up to 1,600 bar, independent of the engine speed and the quantity of fuel injected.

The fuel is fed through rigid pipes to the injectors, which inject the correct amount of fuel in a fine spray into the combustion chambers.

The Electronic Diesel Control (EDC) ensures extreme precision in all the injection parameters – such as the pressure in the rail and the timing and duration of injection – as well as performing other engine functions.

The injector actuators consist of several hundred thin piezo crystal wafers, which have the special characteristic of expanding rapidly when an electric field is applied to them.

The movement of this piezo packet is transmitted friction-free, using no mechanical parts, to the rapidly switching jet needles. Advantages over the earlier magnetic and current conventional piezo injectors include a more precise metering of the amount of fuel injected and an improved atomisation of the fuel in the cylinders.

The rapid speed at which the injectors can switch makes it possible to reduce the intervals between injections and split the quantity of fuel delivered into a large number of separate injections for each combustion stroke.

As a result, the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel engine offers the best of all worlds; it’s fuel efficient, clean and powerful.

The engine includes a diesel particulate filter (DPF), located in the exhaust line after the oxidising catalytic converter. Its shape is very similar to a catalytic converter, but half the ducts are plugged. Between each duct a porous material allows the gases to pass through while the particles remain on the filter walls.

The Grand Vitara turbo-diesel engine easily meets the stringent Euro IV emissions standard, which limits CO and NOx outputs to just 0.50 grammes per kilometre and 0.25 g/km respectively.

Devers said the addition of a turbo-diesel version would add even more appeal to the Grand Vitara’s outstanding off-road heritage.

“Grand Vitara remains one of the very few compact SUVs that offer a dual range transmission offering true off-road ability, as well as excellent approach and departure angles.

“The Grand Vitara turbo-diesel draws on a rich heritage of 99 years of excellence in engineering by one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers, Renault.

“On the back of another record sales year in 2007 and another increase in market share, Suzuki is clearly one of the major players in the Australian market; a fact borne out by fantastic products such as the new Grand Vitara turbo-diesel,” Devers said.

CORRECTION (23/1/08): The Suzuki Grand Vitara diesel has the highest torque figure of all Suzuki models in Australia, not the most power (Editor).